Opinion Column
Let us stand united as members of Christ’s body
Fr James Walsh, speaking at a United Service in Wells-next-the-Sea for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity last month, urges Christians to work to overcome their differences, and be united in God’s love.
They say that an expert is someone who comes with a briefcase from more than 20 miles away! Well, I’m not an expert in ecumenical matters. But like you, I have journeyed along a road that has included Christians from other churches and that road has been all the richer for it.
To live as a Christian these days is to go against the grain of what is seen as normal. To live by revealed, objective truth runs counter to the subjective viewpoint which sees only your truth and my truth. It is not easy to live by Christian moral values in a country that is in moral free-fall. This is why it is so important that we are seen to live genuine Christian lives, that we speak with one voice and give a united witness to our faith.
To do this we each need to have experienced an ecumenical conversion. What do I mean by this? It involves a radical change in the way we relate to our fellow Christians. It means moving away from competition to co-operation, from critical disapproval to a creative conversation. Rivalry gives way to partnership. From partnership can grow friendships and friendship is a precious gift that we can give to each other. I am sure that for all of us here this has already happened: that I am probably preaching to the converted. If so, praise the Lord!
Each of our churches makes their own special contribution to our ecumenical journey. I think of how the Anglican tradition has enriched my own life. Its willingness to engage with the whole of society, the dignity of its liturgy and music, the theological and scriptural scholarship which has influenced my own ministry, especially writers like C.S. Lewis and C.H. Dodd.
I think of the warm devotional Methodist tradition but also its engagement in social justice both home and abroad. John Wesley had an extraordinary gift for making the Christian message accessible to ordinary people. He was supported by his brother Charles who wrote over 2,500 hymns, some of which we still use today. We are familiar with ‘Love divine all loves excelling’ and ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ which we use in our Christmas services.
I think of the Quaker tradition of Spirit-filled silence and contemplative prayer. How precious this is in a world of noise and bustle. And I think of my own church. What do we bring to the ecumenical table? Well, we are pretty good on guilt! Catholic guilt? On a more serious note, I suppose a sense of history, the place of tradition that is rooted in the scriptures and a respect for the grace of holiness.
If we widen the circle I also think of the Eastern Orthodox churches. The churches of East and West are sometimes seen as the two lungs of the universal Church. While it is possible to exist on one lung how much better if the Body of Christ should function with both.
This leads me to my final point. In chapter 17 of John’s Gospel Jesus prays ‘not only for these (his disciples) but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one’. Then follows what I believe is the key phrase: ‘may they be one in us, as you are in me, and I am in you so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me’. Does this not mean that those who believe in Jesus, who is united to his Father in the life of the Trinity, are not also bound together in the same kind of unity? In other words, the Church, the community of believers, should reflect the same kind of oneness that unites Father and Son in the mystery of the Holy Trinity?
For some this is an impossible pipedream. Yet Jesus speaks of ‘one flock, one shepherd’. We accept Jesus as the one good shepherd. We follow him and listen to his voice. But we have to admit with sadness that we are not truly one flock.
How then do we become one flock and what will this flock look like? For over 50 years our church leaders and theologians have focused on this question. They have identified key aspects that need to be resolved before we can reach full organic unity. These include the place of the Eucharist and the role of authority – how it is exercised and by whom. The road to full unity is open to all and involves both our leaders and ourselves.
Our contribution is one that we have already achieved: to pray for and with each other, to love one another and to work together. This is what Pope Francis tells us: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord Jesus, who has made us living members of His body, to keep us deeply united to Him, to help us overcome our conflicts, our divisions, and our self-seeking; and let us remember that unity is always better than conflict! And so may He help us to be united to one another by one force, by the power of love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.”
This was first published in the Norfolk and Waveney Churches Together Ecumenical Update
Fr James Walsh is a retired Catholic priest who held several positions throughout East Anglia, including Dean of Norwich's Catholic cathedral. He now lives in North Norfolk.
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